NTSB Factual Report

On July 25, 2002, about 1110 eastern daylight time, a Bell 206B, Canadian registration C-GMLS, operated by Standard Ag Helicopters, Inc, of Chatham, Ontario, Canada, was substantially damaged during a forced landing in Newfield, New York. The Canadian certificated commercial pilot received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the external lift flight that was operated from an off-airport helipad. No flight plan had been filed for the local flight that was conducted under Canadian rules in accordance with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and 14 CFR Part 91.

According to the pilot, the purpose of the flight was to pick up equipment used to support a search for natural gas deposits. He was using an off-airport area for staging, pick-ups, and refueling. The pilot reported that he had picked up an external load of equipment which weighed about 200 pounds, and was suspended on a 120-foot line. He was proceeding to another pickup about "300 meters" (984 feet) away. En route to the nearby pickup site, at an airspeed of 20 mph, and an altitude of about 250 feet above ground level (AGL), the engine momentarily "burped", and then returned to normal running.

The pilot was flying over trees, with no suitable landing area nearby, and at the first indication of an engine problem, he immediately scanned for an area to land. He observed a level open area, about 1/2 acre, between a residence and sloping terrain. He turned toward the area, and while headed there, the engine lost power again. The pilot released the external load, and initiated an autorotation to a landing. During the autorotation, the pilot closed the fuel shut-off valve located on the instrument panel. While attempting to reach the closest suitable landing area, the main rotor rpm decayed, and the helicopter made a "firm" landing.

The pilot further reported that his seat was crushed down, and the forward cross tube was spread. The aft cross tube was driven into the rear fuselage, and ruptured the fuel cell.

The pilot stated that the fuel gauge in the helicopter was intermittent. At times it appeared to read normal, and at other times, the needle would indicate zero fuel onboard. The pilot said that he improvised, and used a stick to check the level of fuel in the tank. The initial calibration of the stick was based upon a reading from the fuel gauge in the cockpit.

The pilot reported that refueling was accomplished by transferring fuel from 55 gallon drums to the helicopter, using an electric fuel pump powered by the battery in a vehicle. The pilot determined that the rate of fuel transfer was 34 liters per minute. Based upon that flow rate, the pilot computed that 3 minutes of refueling added 102 liters [27 gallons] to the helicopter, which would have been sufficient fuel for 1 hour of flight.

The pilot stated that the helicopter had last been refueled the night before, with fuel flowing for 5 1/2 minutes. When the accident occurred, the helicopter was on its third flight, and had accumulated a total of 1.1 hours of flight since last refueling. The pilot believed that after refueling, there was sufficient fuel onboard for close to 2 hours of flight. In addition, he reported that he had dipped the fuel tank with an improvised dip stick to confirm the amount of fuel onboard at departure.

According to a statement from the Ithaca, New York, airport Fire Chief who responded to the site:

"The [rear] cross tubes damaged the fuel tank, but there was not enough fuel leaking to create a fire hazard. In a precautionary measure, soaker pads were applied to the area to catch any fuel leakage...almost 4 hours after the crash, the soaker pads were removed for inspection. The pads had very little fuel on them, and after further investigation with the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration], the fuel tank was found with approximately one gal of fuel remaining...."

The helicopter was examined by an inspector from the FAA, who reported that the fuel supply line to the engine driven pump was empty, and the fuel supply line between the engine driven pump, and the fuel control unit was empty. In addition, no evidence of fuel contamination was found. The inspector also reported that the tail boom and fuselage were wrinkled.

The owner reported that he was present during the examination of the fuel lines. He said that although the fuel lines were not full, there was a noticeable amount of fuel in the lines. The owner also reported that fuel was found in the engine driven fuel pump filter and airframe fuel filters. The operator reported the fuel capacity of the fuel tank was 77.06 gallons, with 76 gallons useable.

The Bell 206 used an electric boost pump to maintain a constant supply of fuel to the high pressure engine driven fuel pump. In addition, a low fuel pressure switch was installed in the fuel line which led to the engine driven fuel pump.

According to the owner, the helicopter was not equipped with a low fuel quantity warning light. In addition, Bell Helicopters, Inc., did not have an approved procedure for dipping the fuel tank to determined fuel quantity. When asked, the pilot reported that he had not received authority from Transport Canada to operate with an inoperative fuel gauge or to dip the tanks to determine fuel quantity. However, the pilot did report that he had made a good faith effort to determine the quantity of fuel in the helicopter prior to departure.

According to photographs supplied by the owner, an area of dead vegetation surrounded by green grass was visible and was reported to be where the helicopter touched down. Additional photographs showed liquid dripping from the helicopter as it was lifted from the grassy area and moved to a driveway, and a darkened area was visible on the driveway under the area of the helicopter's fuel tank.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's failure to verify the amount of fuel onboard prior to departure, which resulted in a power loss due to fuel exhaustion, and subsequent hard landing. A factor was the lack of a suitable landing area under the helicopter when the power loss occurred.